Nikara castanea Moore, 1882

Saldaitis, Aidas, Volynkin, Anton V., Speidel, Wolfgang & Zahiri, Reza, 2022, A review of the genus Nikara Moore and its transfer to the Stiriinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Zootaxa 5205 (3), pp. 201-219 : 208-209

Nikara castanea Moore, 1882

( Figs 1–6 , 15, 16 , 19, 20 )

Nikara castanea Moore, 1882 , Descriptions of new Indian Lepidopterous Insects from the collection of the late Mr. W.S. Atkinson 2: 126, pl. 4, fig. 24 (Type locality: [NE India, north of West Bengal, Darjeeling] “ Darjiling ”).

Material examined. INDIA: 1 male, [north of West Bengal, Darjeeling] Darjiling, Moore Coll. 94-106, NHMUK unique number: 014165090, gen. slide No. : NHMUK010316228 (prepared by Volynkin) ( NHMUK) ; 1 female, [Sikkim] Sikhim , IX.1909. F. Moller. 1910-140, NHMUK unique number: 014165091, gen. slide No. : NHMUK010316229 (prepared by Volynkin) ( NHMUK) ; THAILAND: 1 female, Changwat Chiang Mai, Mt. Doi Phahompok , 17 km NW of Fang, 2100m, 15.VIII.1999, leg. T . Csővári & L. Mikus, gen. slide No.: AV6401 (prepared by Volynkin) ( WSO) ; 1 male, Chiang Mai, Mt. Doi Phahompok , 18 km NW Fang, 2100m, 10–11.IX.1999, leg. A. Szabo & Zita ( MHB) ; VIETNAM: 4 females, Prov. Lao Cai, 1920m, Fan-si-pan Mts, Sa Pa , 4 km W Cat Cat, January–March 1998, leg. Frontier organization ( HNHM) ; CHINA: 3 male, Shaanxi, 1480m, North from Foping , N33°42.546 ″, E107°56.418 ″, 3–5.viii.2006, Floriani & Saldaitis leg., gen. slide No.: AV5595 (prepared by Volynkin) ( ASV, AFM) ; 1 female, Chong Guanmian Shan , 25.viii–15.ix.2000, 1500m, [local] collector leg., gen. slide No.: AV6435 (prepared by Volynkin) ( HSV) .

Remarks. According to the original description ( Moore 1882), the type female should be stored in the collection of O. Staudinger which is currently housed in MfN. Unfortunately, we could not locate the type specimen, probably it is lost. However, the topotype male specimen deposited in NHMUK was examined by the second author of the present paper.

Diagnosis. The species can easily be distinguished from the congeners by the amber brown area along the anal forewing margin fused with the amber brown postmedial and subterminal areas. The differences between N. castanea and N. cupreomicans are discussed in details below in the diagnoses of the latter species.

Re-description. External morphology of adults ( Figs 1–6 ). Head and thorax dark brown, with suffusion of shiny bluish scales. Male antenna filiform. Forewing length is 15–18 mm in males and 16.5–17 mm in females. Subbasal and medial areas of forewing dark brown with suffusion of shiny bluish scales medially and along the costa but amber brown with slight suffusion of shiny bluish scales along the anal margin. Orbicular stigma narrowly elliptical, encircled with shiny bluish scales. Reniform stigma nearly circular, encircled with shiny bluish scales. Postmedial line smoothly curved medially. Postmedial area amber brown. Subterminal area pale amber brown with intense suffusion of shiny bluish scales. Cilia pale brown. Hindwing greyish brown, slightly paler at base. Discal spot reniform, indistinct. Abdomen brown. Male genitalia ( Figs 15, 16 ). Uncus elongate, slender, laterally flattened, dorso-ventrally curved, dilated subapically, apically pointed with tiny claw-like tip. Tuba analis with heavily sclerotised and rugose scaphium. Tegumen shorter than valva. Juxta shield-like, with rounded apical depression and tiny round basal incision. Vinculum ca. 1.5 times shorter than tegumen, with thin but well-sclerotised arms, Vshaped with pointed tip. Pleurite present, as a curved and apically rounded, plate-like extension of vinculum. Valva elongate and narrow (length to width ratio ca. 5.5:1), with nearly parallel margins. Costal margin slightly convex subbasally. Corona present. Sacculus short (ca. 0.2 of valva length) and narrow (ca. half of basal section of valva width). Clavus finger-like with rounded tip. Aedeagus elongate, nearly straight, with short (ca. 0.2 of valva length) and apically rounded distal carinal process ventrally. Vesica with long (longer than main chamber), sack-like ventral diverticulum having two short lobes apically. Subbasal cluster of cornuti band-like, consisting of numerous tiny short cornuti. Female genitalia ( Figs 19, 20 ). Papillae analis sclerotised, posteriorly tapered with rounded tips, weakly setose. Apophyses rod-like, thin. Apophysis anterioris ca. 1.25 times longer than posterioris one, dilated apically. Ostium bursae with membranous margin. Ductus bursae short (ca. 0.75 of apophysis anterioris length), membranous, tubular. Corpus bursae strongly elongate (ca. 6.5 times longer than ductus bursae), narrow (length to medial section width ratio ca. 1:3.3), membranous, with elliptical rugose sclerotised plate postero-laterally at right side. Appendix bursae short (ca. 1/10 of corpus bursae length), broadly conical with rounded apex, positioned postero-laterally at left side.

Distribution and bionomics. The species is known from eastern Himalaya (north-eastern India), northern Thailand (Chiang Mai Province), northern Vietnam (Lào Cai Province) ( Moore 1882; Hampson 1910; Kononenko & Pinratana 2013, as Chrysonicara aureus ), and China (Shaanxi) (new country record). In China, the species was collected at light in the beginning of August at altitudes around 1500 meters in a small river valley surrounded by hills overgrown with a forest of various deciduous trees and bushes ( Fig. 24 ).

Figures

FIGURE 24. China, Shaanxi, North from Foping. Habitat of N. castanea (photo by A. Saldaitis).

FIGURES 1–8. Nikara spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1 and 2 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 3 in MHB (photo by B. Tóth); 4 in HNHM (photo by B. Tóth); 5 in ASV; 6 in HSV (photo by H. Seibald); 7 and 8 in ZFMK.

FIGURES 15–18. Nikara spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 15 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 16 and 17 in ASV 18 in ZFMK (photo by V.S. Kononenko).

FIGURES 19–23. Nikara spp.: female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 19 and 23 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 20 in HSV; 21 in AFM; 22 in MfN.